Family's spirit of adventure stays in gear after I-80 camper crash

An overturned camper briefly snarled traffic on westbound Route 80 just before 11:30 a.m. Monday, but it did little to dampen the spirits of its owners, who just set out on a cross-country vacation.

CHRIS REBER

An overturned camper briefly snarled traffic on westbound Route 80 just before 11:30 a.m. Monday, but it did little to dampen the spirits of its owners, who just set out on a cross-country vacation.

Peter Freeman, Karen Parker and their two children had just set out for the day from their campsite near Delaware Water Gap, headed for relatives in Akron, Ohio, when the camper they were pulling with their truck overturned. The truck remained upright and no one was hurt.

Traffic was briefly stopped and limited to one lane as crews cleaned up the area.

Freeman and family were on the second day of a weeks-long family trip to the Grand Canyon. Despite the loss of the camper, Parker was incredibly upbeat about continuing the trip.

"Absolutely, we're going," Freeman said as crews worked to upright his RV. "I think we're done with the camper portion though."

His wife, Karen Parker, said she wasn't surprised by Freeman's attitude.

"You're looking at the nicest guy in the world," she said.

Parker admitted that she was behind the wheel when the camper they were towing with their Ford truck started swaying.

"It's like driving on ice, when it starts swaying," Parker said. "We checked everything out, there was no obvious reason why it started."

It appeared the long list of campsites and attractions they had planned to visit — Bryce Canyon, family in the Midwest — along the way would have to wait for next year, but the family was undeterred about continuing on to their destination.

"Good thing it didn't happen at the end of the trip (in Arizona)," Freeman said. "That would have caused some stress."